Railway-tie



L.. WALLACE. RAILWAY TIB.

Patented May 6, 1.890.

UNITED STATES PATENT 'OEEICEo LEWIS WALLACE, OFv CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANAs RAI LwAY-Tl E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 427,384, dated May 6, 1890.

Application filed June 7, 1889. Serial No. 313,470. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEwrs WALLACE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Crawfordsville, in the countyv of Montgomery and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Ties, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is a railway-tie constructed, as fully set forth hereinafter, so as to 'permit the rails to be readily secured and detached, and so as to afford bearings of thedesired stability with a structure which is light in weight and which can be economically manufactured.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view illustrating my improved railway-tie; Fig. 2, a perspective View, enlarged, showing one end of the tie and one of the fixed jaws. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing one of the removable jaws detached. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the center of the tie with one of the rails in place, and Fig. 5 is a section illustrating a modification.

The body A of the tie is preferably in the form of a narrowed strip of only such width and thickness as may be necessary to secure the desired strength and rigidity, and serves mainly as a means of tying together the two heads B B of the tie, which are connected to or formed in one piece with the body and are widened to such an extent as to secure the needed stability, and are preferably curved downward at the ends or heads, so as to take a better hold upon the bed than would result if they were flat at the under side. To further increase the hold of the tie upon the bed, the body A is provided with lateral arms F F, curved like the head portions B and serving, when embedded in the earth or ballast7 as an anchor. The tie thus formed with widened heads or bearings B and with a light and narrow connecting portion A may be otherwise constructed in any suitable manner for the support and attachment of the rails D, which extend over the widened bearings B.

A preferable construction is illustrated in the drawings, in which each head or bearing B is shown as provided with a standard a, having an inturned lip b, which standard is rigidly secured to or preferably forms part of the bearing-B and constitutes practically one jaw of a clamp for securing the rail to the tie.

The other jaw c is removable and, as shown, consists of a plate the lower end of which fits in a socket e in the tie, while its upper end is provided with a lip h", so that when the two jaws are in position, with the base of the rail between them, the lips will 'overhang the flanges of said base and hold the rail in its position. Any or all of the jaws may be movable, and each movable 'jaw c is suitably secured to the tie, so asto be readilydetached to facilitate the removal of the rail.

Inasmuch as screw-bolts would speedily become inoperative when embedded with the tie, and inasmuch'as the use of nuts and bolts would necessitate access to the under side of the tie when said nuts and bolts are used in the ordinary manner, I have discarded the` employment of such fastening devices and make use of a plain rod or pin as a securing device, so arranged as to be applied and withdrawn without the necessity of removing the tie from its bed or of obtaining laccess to the under side of the tie. Thus I provide the tie adjacent to the position of the jaw cwith two separated lugs ff, and I provide the jaw c with a lug g, which, when the jaw is in place, is in line with the lugs ff, and all of the said lugs are perforated, so that when the jawcis in place a pin 7i may be passed through the perforations of the lugs, thereby securing the jaw iirmly in its position. It will be seen that the retaining-pin h is readily accessibleV from the top of the tie and it may be driven in or out of its place without the necessity of exposing any portion of the tie, except the top adjacent to the rail, and that the pin may be formed by simply cutting a section from a plain bar without threading or otherwise operating upon the same, and that the pin will be retained in its place by the ballast without the necessity of the ordinary retaining devices required when the bolt-fastenings are used. By providing the recess or socket for the reception of the edge of the jaw o the thrust resulting from l any pressure or strain upon the rail is brought directly against the tie and is not borne by the pin, with a corresponding increase in the safety of the structure.

It will be seen that by the employment of the tie having fixed and movable jaws, which latter may be secured in position and with- IOO ' drawn by exposing only the upper face of the tie, I am ena-bled to apply and remove the rails with great facility' and to readily make those repairs which necessitate the removal of one or more of the ties without disturbing the rails or the positions of the other ties. The bases of the rails may rest directly upon the bearings B; but where it is desirable to embed the tie to any considerable depth in the ballast and where it is further desirable to secure a more yielding or elastic support for the rail than can result when the rail bears directly upon the tie I prefer to use the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, in which the jaws a c are of such height as to permit the interposition of one or more blocks, preferably of elastic or semi-elastic material, be-

tween the jaws and between the base of the rail and bearings. Thus, as shown in Figs. l and 4, a block d, of gum-wood or other suitl able elastic material, is held below the rail between the jaws, and a narrow or thin strip j, of rubber vulcanized to any degree of hardness, is placed above' the block d, and a protecting-plate t', of iron or suitable material, is interposed between the rubber and the base of the rail.

To aid in holding the above-described parts in position, I prefer to provide the jaws, or one of them, with side anges 7c, as shown.

IVhen the ends of two rails abut above one of the bearings B, the use of the plate t' above the elastic material is important, as therebyT either rail is prevented from sinking down under pressure below the end of the other rail, which would result in pounding and wounding the latter and in detrimental jars to the wheels and vehicle.

It will be understood that I have described the above-set-forth construction lof yielding bearing merely for the purpose ofA illustrating one mode of deadening the blows upon the rail when in use, and that I propose to employ any suitable material or combination of materials below the rails that may be used for effecting the desired result, or to dispense with the use of either of the materials whenever it may not be desirable to employ them.

Vhile I prefer to make use of the anchor F F, it may be dispensed with in some cases.

lVhile the tie and attachments for the rails may be constructed in any suitable manner, I prefer to form the body and bearings and stationary j awsof cast metal in one piece, the movablejaws also being of cast metal, thereby securing a light, strong, and cheap structure.

Vithout limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts shown, I claiml. A railway -tie consisting of extended bearings B, connecting-strip A, and anchor F F, the bearings curved downward at the ends, substantially as set forth.

2. A railway-tie having sockets for movable jaws, jaws adapted to be applied vertically in position and engaging with said sockets,

and a pin passing transversely to the tie through a portion of the jaw and through a projection upon the tie, substantially as described.

The combination of the tie having xed jaws, lugs arranged to permit the rails to be introduced freely vertically between the fixed -jaws and lugs, and vertically-detachable jaws having transverse openings adapted to receive transverse pins securing the removable jaws to said lugs, substantially as set forth.

4. A railway-tie provided with fixed standards or jaws and transversely-perforated lugs, detachable jaws having transversely-perfo rated lugs an d vertically removable from the tie, and pins passing transversely to the tie through said lugs, substantially as described.

5. A railway-tie provided with xed jaws a, transversely-perforated lugs f, and sockets e, and with movable jaws c, fitting said socket in the tie and having perforated lugs g and securing-pins 72 substantially as set forth.

G. The combination of a railway-tie having fixed and movable jaws for holding the rails, elastic material interposed between said jaws, and iianges 7c, for holdingv said material in place, substantially as set forth.

In testimonywhereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

LEIVIS VALLACE.

Vitnesses:

CHARLES E. FOSTER, XV. CLARENCE DUvALL. 

